MGR was a member of the Congress Party till 1953 and he used to wear Khādī. In 1953 MGR joined the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) with the help of M. Karunanidhi. He became a member of the state Legislative Council in 1962. He was first elected to the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly in 1967. After the death of his mentor, Annadurai, MGR became the treasurer of DMK in 1969 after Karunanidhi became the chief minister

In 1972, MGR was expelled from the party, due to conflict with Karunanidhi and floated a new party named Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (ADMK), then he became Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu on the 30th of July 1977, remaining in office till his death in 1987

Death

MGR died on December 24, at the age of 70. His death sparked off all over the state of Tamil Nadu,Shops, movie theatres, buses centre all were closed for severa days. Around one million people gathered in the streets, around 30 followers committed suicide